The University of South Florida today celebrates a significant milestone in the university’s history with a special grand opening ceremony to showcase the new, state-of-the-art home of the Judy Genshaft Honors College. The five-story, 85,000-square-foot facility will serve USF’s most accomplished and talented students from every undergraduate college and strengthen the university’s position to attract the top talent within the state of Florida and beyond. The new facility, located across from the Yuengling Center along USF Genshaft Drive on the Tampa campus, provides a dedicated home for the unique classes and programs for honors students. It features a variety of spaces for intellectual development and creative exchange, including open-design classrooms, 39 signature learning lofts and dedicated studio spaces for art, food and culture, along with music and technology. A total of 50 spaces in the building are named through generous gifts. The project is primarily funded through philanthropic support, including a historic lead gift of $20 million from USF President Emerita and Professor Judy Genshaft and her husband Steven Greenbaum. When the gift was announced in 2019, it represented one of the largest gifts of its kind ever made by a sitting university president to their institution. The Judy Genshaft Honors College consists of more than 2,500 high-achieving, cross-disciplinary scholars who are part of a close community that provides specialized experiences and advanced educational opportunities. More than one third of Honors College students at USF are the first in their families to go to college. Following the announcement of the new building in spring 2019, the profile and success of Honors College students have continued to increase. Total enrollment has grown 13 percent, the number of students with a 4.0 GPA has risen from 463 to 556 and the four-year graduation rate continues to steadily increase. Positive trends are expected to continue as the new building will offer more opportunities for student engagement, which research has shown links directly to stronger academic outcomes. The building will welcome its first class of students this summer.

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